The Horrors help bring British fest stateside

For every Radiohead that goes through the stratosphere, there’s a Gene that takes off in England, but doesn’t make much noise elsewhere.

The Horrors were the darlings of the English media in 2006. The praise was there from the act’s first show.

“It was pretty interesting right from the beginning,” says keyboardist Tom Cowan. “You can’t really put much stock in the British hype machine. It’s nice to get that notice out of the gate, but you have to earn respect.”

The Horrors have done just that.

The inventive band has evolved from garage rockers to an unpredictable synth-driven psychedelic band.

“We’ve never been about repeating ourselves,” Cowan says while calling from St. Louis. “Each album has to be different. Each time we make a record, we go on a new journey.”

The latest journey the group is taking is touring behind “Skying,” the act’s latest album. It has been at or near the top of the British charts.

Now, the group would like to make that jump in America.

“We’re hoping to build on what we’ve started when we perform in America,” Cowan says. “We do well back home and it would be great if we could (approximate) that in America. We’re going to do our best to get the word out about what we’re doing.”

The Horrors, which also include vocalist Faris Badwin, guitarist Joshua Hayward, bassist Rhys Webb and drummer Joe Spurgeon, will showcase their material Saturday in Asbury Park at All Tomorrow’s Parties, a festival named after a Velvet Underground song, and Sunday at World Café Live.

ATP events have primarily been held in England, where the sponsorship-free festival was born.

The fest is curated by well-respected artists. Neutral Milk Hotel’s Jeff Mangum put together the Asbury Park lineup, featuring Portishead, which rarely plays the U.S.

“All Tomorrow’s Parties is well known back in England, but I think more and more Americans are going to get to know about it,” Cowan says. “I’ve been to two (ATP) shows in England and it’s just amazing. It’s always a diverse lineup. But we’re also looking forward to playing Philadelphia as well. Philly has been good to us.”

Cowan is looking forward to taking further steps when the band records its next album.

“That’s what it’s all about,” Cowan says. “When we made our first record (2007’s ‘Strange House’), we weren’t accomplished musicians by any means. But we kept getting better with every show, every time we were in the studio, and that’s what we intend to do with the next album.

“We just want to keep getting better — to challenge ourselves and listeners.”

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